monitoring the scopeand benefits of fairtrade:
coTTON
Monitoring Report 10th Edition

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

Copyright Fairtrade International 2019

Disclaimer

All rights reserved. None of the material provided in thispublication may be used, reproduced, or transmitted, inwhole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic ormechanical, including photocopying, recording or the useof any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from Fairtrade International.

The monitoring data in this report are based on data collectedby FLOCERT, and reported in some cases by producer
organizations through the audit process and in other casesby other supply chain actors. Fairtrade International is not
responsible for the accuracy of the data. The report has been
compiled to the best of our knowledge and is provided for
informational purposes only. Fairtrade International reserves
the right to update the monitoring data as new information
becomes available. The data are provided ‘as is’ and no
warranty of any kind is given for the accuracy and reliabilityof the data. Fairtrade International will not be liable for any
claims or damages related to the quality and completeness ofthe data, as far as it is permitted under law.

About Fairtrade International
Fairtrade International is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder
association that promotes fairer conditions for international
trade, empowers small-scale farmers and workers, andfosters sustainable livelihoods.
Fairtrade International develops and maintains theinternationally-agreed Fairtrade Standards, owns the
FAIRTRADE Mark, and supports the international Fairtradesystem. Three regional Fairtrade producer networks
representing 1.6 million farmers and workers co-own theinternational Fairtrade system, which also includes theindependent certification body FLOCERT, and Fairtradeorganizations in more than 30 countries that promote
Fairtrade to business and consumers.
For more information, visit www.fairtrade.net

About FLOCERTFLOCERT is a global certification body offering verificationand supply chain services to ensure social and environmental
standards. Founded in 2003 as the single certifier for
Fairtrade, the company has six international offices, 125
employees and more than 120 auditors worldwide.
For more information, visit www.flocert.net

2

The material presented here is for informational purposes
only. Fairtrade International grants permission to use theinformation for personal, non-commercial use, without any
right to resell or redistribute information or to compile orcreate derivative works therefrom.

Editorial and Data team: Harveen Kour, Verónica Pérez
Sueiro, Subindu Garkhel, Emily deRiel, Gerrit Walter, DanielCastro, Miyako Takahashi, and Luis Pastor
Design/layout: Alberto Martínez, Renderparty
Proofreading: Laura O’Mahony

Cover Photo:
Women cotton farmers, Agricultural Commodity and Service
Cooperative, Kyrgyzstan© Didier Gentilhomme/Fairtrade International

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

20 cotton
producer organizations

representing

45,15374%of allfairtrade cotton
farmers live inindia

farmers in 8 countries

fairtrade cotton
farmers investedof the fairtrade premium

58%

88% of all

fairtradepremiumfor cotton goes toindia

in agricultural tools,
inputs and farm
best practices

3Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

keydata:data:fairtrade
fairtradecotton
cotton1.1.key
20 Producer organizations↑ 11% since 2016

45,153 farmers↓ 2% since 2016

62,899 Hectares↑ 26% since 2016

52,763MT of cotton produced by Fairtrade producer
organizations↑ 10% since 2016

4

The context for Fairtrade cotton
The Fairtrade Cotton Standard was launched more than adecade ago to benefit the farmers at the end of a long andcomplex supply chain. Over this period, we have succeededin raising awareness of the problems faced by cotton farmers,
empowering and training producers to comply with the
Fairtrade Standards and attracted more and more companies
in the textile sector to source Fairtrade cotton. Thanks toour efforts, sales of Fairtrade certified cotton is on the rise,increasing by 39 percent during 2016-2017.
The number of Fairtrade certified cotton producer
organizations has remained stable over the years,
encompassing more than 45,000 farmers across eight
producing countries. Those Fairtrade farmers are members ofsmall producer organizations are part of contract production
organizations1 in the process of forming independent
cooperatives. The highest number of Fairtrade cotton
organisations are in West Africa, but the majority of Fairtradecertified cotton is grown in India.

7,986MT of cotton sold as fairtrade↑ 39% since 2016

€1,096,505 Premium earned↑ 33% since 2016

Notes:
Notes:

1

This is the standard for small-scale producers who are not yet

Datafrom 2017.
Data from2017.

democratically organized. As a temporary measure, they can join Fairtrade

Numbers above 10,000 are rounded to the nearest hundred.

if they have a partnership with an organization (such as an exporter or NGO)

Numbers above 10,000 are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Metric tonnes abbreviated to MT.
The source for the cotton sales volume figure reported here is different from the previous year, hence a direct comparison
is not possible. The 2017 figure comes from the producer sales, reported by their customers and collected by FLOCERT,
which is the same source used for the other products in this report. Due to the highly complex nature of the cotton supply
chain, some transactions may not be reflected in the above figure. For reference, using the same market sales-based data
source as in the previous report, the volume recorded in 2017 was 10,799 metric tonnes giving a grow rate of 33 percent.

that will assist them to form an independent organization.

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

2. Number of fairtrade certified cotton producer
organizations (seed cotton) 2013-2017

What are the main issues facing
Fairtrade cotton and what are wedoing to address them?

28
26

26

24
22

22

22

20

20

18

18

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2013

2014

2015

2016

5

2017

Cotton farmers in developing countries, including leading
producers like India, live in hardship. They are virtually invisible
in the supply chain and wield little power or influence. Withhigh levels of illiteracy and limited land holdings, many
cotton farmers live below the poverty line and depend on the
middlemen or ginners who buy their cotton, often at prices
below the cost of production. Rising costs of production,
fluctuating market prices, falling yields and climate change
pose daily challenges, along with food price inflation and foodinsecurity. These factors also affect farmers’ ability to provide
decent wages and conditions to the casual workers they
employ. In West Africa, a cotton farmer’s typical smallholdingof two to five hectares provides the essential income forbasic needs such as food, healthcare, school fees and tools.
A small fall in cotton prices can have serious implications
for a farmer’s ability to meet these needs. In India, many
farmers are seriously indebted because of the high interest
loans needed to purchase fertilizers and other farm inputs.
Unstable, inadequate incomes perpetuate the situation inwhich farmers lack the finances to invest in the infrastructure,training and tools needed to improve their livelihoods.
Fairtrade cotton was launched to highlight the problems,
to provide farmers with an alternative route to trade andhigher, more stable incomes, and support them in addressing
environmental challenges in their communities. Both the
Fairtrade Minimum Price and the Fairtrade Premium forcotton, as well as targeted support and training for producers,
are aimed at helping producer organisations to become
stronger and more resilient businesses.

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

fairtradecottonproducingcountries
3.3.fairtradecottonproducingcountries
Premium
received (€)

Volume sold as Fairtrade (cottonlint) (MT)

NumberofPOs

Number offarmers

India€960,085

7,047

12

33,542

Rest of theWorld€136,420939

8

11,611

Total€1,096,505

7986

20

45,153

Country

Notes:
Data
from
2017.
Data
from
2017.
Where there are fewer than three Fairtrade certified producer organizations in a country, the data are aggregatedWhere
are fewer
thanthree category
Fairtrade certified
producerorganizationsdata
in a country,
the data are aggregated into the ‘Rest
into there
the 'Restof theWorld'
to protect
the organization's
confidentiality.
of theWorld’ category
to protect
the organization’s
Producer
Organizations
abbreviatedto POs.data confidentiality.
The source
for the cotton
salestovolume
Producer
Organizations
abbreviatedPOs. figure reported here is different from the prior year, hence a directcomparison is not possible. The 2017 figure comes from the producer sales, reported by their customers andcollected by FLOCERT, which is the same source used for the other products in this report. Due to the highly
complex nature of the cotton supply chain, some transactions may not be reflected in the above figure.
For reference, using the same market sales-based data source as in the previous report, the volume recorded
in 2017 was 10,799 metric tonnes giving a grow rate of 33 percent.

6

Fairtrade also works with farmers to reduce their useof agrochemicals, help them adapt to changing climate
patterns and encourage organic farming. Requirements in
the Fairtrade Standards also protect farmers’ health andsafety, and ban genetically-modified cotton seeds. A large
percentage of Fairtrade cotton is also certified as organic, andFairtrade encourages and supports cotton farmers to protect
the natural environment as an integral part of their farmmanagement.

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

4. area under fairtrade cotton cultivation 2015-2017
In 2017, the area of land under Fairtrade cotton certification was 62,899 hectares (ha) - equivalent to forty
times as big as the Central Park in New York.

8,899 ha60,000 ha
54,000 ha
11,445 ha

50,000 ha
12,206 ha
40,000 ha

38,539 ha
32,825 ha

30,000 ha

20,000 ha

10,000 ha

0
2016

2015

India

Rest of the World

2017

7

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

Positioning Fairtrade cotton within
the textile industry

5. fairtrade cotton sales volumes andpremium earned 2016-2017

Interest in Fairtrade cotton continues to grow and wecontinue to forge fairer partnerships between producers andbusinesses. We have seen brands increase their Fairtradecommitments and new brands join us and source Fairtradecotton. Last year, we welcomed many new brands toFairtrade, including British lifestyle brand White Stuff, andNorwegian brands BikBok and Princess.

5. fairtrade cotton sales volumes and premium earned 2016-2017
Fairtrade cotton lint volumes sold (MT)Fairtrade Premium received (€)

9,000MT€1,200,000
7,986MT

8,000MT

€1,096,505€1,100,000€1,000,000

7,000MT
6,000MT€900,000€800,000

5,727MT€798,586€700,000

5,000MT€500,000€400,000

3,000MT€300,000

2,000MT€200,000
1,000MT€100,000
0

0
2016

Note:
Data rounded to the nearest hundred.

2017

But much still needs to be done to extend the benefits ofFairtrade to the farmers we are working with and reach othercotton-producing communities struggling to make a decent
living. We need to keep encouraging the textile industry
to increase its uptake of Fairtrade cotton and build new
partnerships to address the sector’s multi-faceted challenges.
To improve our engagement with businesses, Fairtrade, alongwith other partners, supported the launch of the Cotton UP2
guide in 2018, a tool aimed at enabling companies to better
understand and source sustainable cotton.

€600,000
4,000MT

8

2016

2017

Also in 2018, Fairtrade, in collaboration with APROCA,ECOS and FIBL launched ‘The Organic and Fairtrade Cotton
Coalition (CCBE) West Africa’. This new multi-stakeholder
coalition aims to establish reliable market access for morethan 500,000 small-scale organic and Fairtrade cotton
farmers across Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Senegal.
We hope that, by 2025, those producers will be earning afair and sustainable income from farming and processing
approximately 40,000 MT of cotton fibre.

Note:

Data rounded to the nearest hundred.

Throughout 2018, Fairtrade was busy leading talks with new
business partners to increase the uptake of Fairtrade cottonand held concrete discussions with several global brands.
Fairtrade also had a strong presence at industry events suchas the Better Cotton Initiative Conference, the United Nations
Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) conference, theOrganic Cotton Round Table (OCRT), Innovation Forum andthe Textile Exchange Conference among others.
2

Sourced from: http://cottonupguide.org/

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

6. fairtrade cotton premium use in small producer
organizations 2016-2017
1% Education services to members
1% Farmer training in agriculturalor business practices
6% Health services for members

•

•

•

1% Facilities andInfrastructure•

8% Other••

13% Other services to members

8% Education services
for communities••

2% Social and economic
services for communities• 1% Community infrastructure• 1% Environmental services
for communities

22% Implementation of on-farm best practices•• 36% Provision of agricultural tools
and inputs

Investing in producer
organizations

1%

Services for farmers

79%

Services for communities

12%

Other

8%

Note:
Percentages may not sum due to rounding.

9premium USE
The Fairtrade Premium is a key driver of impact forcooperatives, farmers and their communities and has been
invested by cotton producers in diverse ways. In 2017, 79
percent of Premium funds was spent on services for farmer
members. The bulk of this was made up of investments inagricultural tools and inputs and the implementation of bestpractices on their farms. This type of spending not only
reduces farmer expenditure but also contributes to enhancing
their capabilities.
Cotton producers also spent 12 percent of the Fairtrade
Premium they earned on services for their communities,
notably education services.

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FAIRTRADE COTTON

7. fairtrade premium use in relation to theun’s sustainable development goals (sdgs)

How fairtrade premium use
contributes to the un sdgs
Fairtrade Premium investments made by cotton producers
contribute to several of the UN Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). While most activities can apply to more thanone SDG, here we have mapped each category of spending
to a unique SDG for the sake of simplicity.

4% Other SDGs
14% SDG4 Quality Education

2% SDG1 No Poverty

10

80% SDG2 Zero Hunger

Most (80 percent) of the Fairtrade Premium investmentsby cotton producers contributed to SDG2 (zero hunger).
Primarily, these included activities that contributed tosustainable agriculture and the strengthening of producer
organizations through the provision of agricultural tools andinputs, loans for farm improvement and implementing bestpractices. Investments like these also help reduce overallhousehold expenditure for farming families.
Fourteen percent of Fairtrade Premium investments went
on school infrastructure and contribute to SDG4 (quality
education). That goal aims to ensure inclusive and equitable
quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning
opportunities for all.
SDG1 (no poverty) is central to Fairtrade’s mission to connect
disadvantaged producers and consumers, promote fairer
trading conditions and empower producers to combat
poverty, strengthen their position and take more control overtheir lives. Two percent of Fairtrade Premium spending in the
cotton sector – primarily in the form of direct cash payments
to members and other welfare payments – contributed to thisgoal.

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTONIMPACT STORY

RDFC: A growing membership
An increasing number of farmers reap the benefitsof Fairtrade

Environmental and infrastructure projects such as rainwater
harvesting, tree plantation, seed production and road
construction.
Educational support for the children of producers through theconstruction of new classrooms and the provision of ‘smart
classes’ to help children access higher education.
Of all the projects undertaken by RDFC, the rainwater
harvesting initiative is one of the most important for its longterm sustainability.

“Our region suffers from scarcity of water and therefore
the producer members from Kutch are highly dependent
on rainfall. We are currently working with our members
to harvest and store rainwater, and imparting training on
effective usage of water for agriculture,” explains Patel.
With continued Fairtrade sales of its cotton, RDFC hopes
to be able to continue to tackle this and other challenges,
increase its production and keep expanding the benefits tomore farmers in the region.

Founded in 2015, the Rapar and Dhrangadhra Farmers’
Producer Company (RDFC) is a cotton cooperative that
operates in the districts of Kutch and Surendranagar
in Gujarat, India. The co-op is 100 percent owned bysmallholder farmers who grow cotton, sesame, peanut andother crops.
RDFC became a Fairtrade certified in April 2016. Before that,it had been certified as a Fairtrade contract production project
Initially, the organization had 498 members. This number has
since grown to 798 shareholding members, all of whom aresmall and marginal farmers.
“We opted for Fairtrade certification to support oursustainable development goals and to ultimately reap
benefits for our farmers. Fairtrade has enabled theorganization to increase the income and profitability of
the farmers. Due to this development, there are numbersof farmers who are interested in joining Fairtrade andopting for membership in our organization,” explains
Shailesh Patel, founder and director of RDFC.
The co-op’s main goal is to increase the well-being of its
members and improve their incomes. In order to do this,it has used the Fairtrade Premium to invest in businessdevelopment, environmental protection and education.
Particular projects include:
Training on increasing productivity and income and adopting
new technologies at farm level.

Teacher with students in a school supported by RDFC cotton cooperative’s Fairtrade Premium.
© Sean Hawkey

11Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTONIMPACT STORY

Organic, Fairtrade and GMOfree cotton bring a future
to over 1,000 farmers inrural Kyrgyzstan

Located in the heart of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has limited
arable land. But despite the scarcity of suitable farm land,almost 65 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture.
With three-quarters of the country’s poor living in rural areas
the sector’s development is critical to reducing widespreadpoverty and ensuring food security. Rehabilitating degradedpastures, providing extension services and improving thequality of export products are just some of the initiatives being
supported by external development agencies to bring more
prosperity to the country’s rural population.
One such project is financed by the Swiss government
through Helvetas. With technical and financial support from
Helvetas and GIZ, the Bio Farmer Agricultural Commodity andService Cooperative was set up in December 2007 and the‘Developing organic cotton trade production and promotion(Bio Cotton)’ project began in 2009.
The initial support it received from the Swiss government
enabled the co-op to create a value chain for organic andFairtrade cotton. Twelve years on, it now operates as a
successful business providing training, machinery andmarketing to more than a thousand farmers – 16 percent ofwhom are women – across three regions: Jalal-Abad, Batken
and Talas.

12“We gained Fairtrade certification in 2008. Switching toorganic and Fairtrade was guided by the increasing needin the agricultural sector to reduce costs of expensiveagro-inputs, but also to improve soil fertility and increase
product value and access to sustainable markets. It
worked well. The organic farmers have 27 percent higher
net profit compared to their fellow farmers,” says director
Nurbek Kannazarov.
The cooperative produces around 1,130MT of raw Fairtradecotton. About one third is sold to the European Union eachseason. Besides seed cotton, the farmers also cultivate
Fairtrade walnuts as well as potatoes, pulses and beans that
contribute to food security for their families.
The Fairtrade Premium has enabled the organization toinvest in increasing quality and production, provide financial
assistance for sick farmers and orphanages, and buy
machinery such as mini-trucks for transporting seeds.
One direct beneficiary from financial assistance during illness
was Karimov Raimberdi, a member of the co-op since 2007.
He fell off his horse and broke his leg. “I had a very bad
fracture which needed surgery and special treatment. Social
security is almost inexistent in Kyrgyzstan. Only inefficient orvery common drugs are reimbursed. Private insurance exists
but is very expensive. I was able to cover the hospital bills,
including the surgery, thanks to the Fairtrade Premium funds,”
he explains.
As well as the benefits gained from Premium investments,
the Fairtrade Minimum Price of €0.55/kg also gives greater
financial security to the farmers.
“The primary benefit of Fairtrade for farmers is the
security of the Fairtrade Minimum Price, which acts as asafety net against market fluctuations, and the 60 percent
prepayment for their produce,” explains Kannazarov.

Karimov Raimberdi, cotton farmer of Agricultural Commodity
and Service Cooperative, Kyrgyzstan.
© Didier Gentilhomme/Fairtrade International

Monitoring Report 10th Edition

FAIRTRADE COTTON

13

About the data in this report
This report has two sources of data.
CODImpact is the data collected from producers during
the audits. Since not all producer organizations are audited
each year, the data is completed using the last available
record. This is the data source for production volume, areaof cultivation, number of farmers and workers, and Premium
usage.
The second source of data is FLOTIS. This is the datacollected from all Premium payers for all transactions in agiven year for Fairtrade sales and Premium generated. The
data has been extensively checked and cleaned. However,in a monitoring project of this magnitude there may be someareas of inaccuracy, such as:• There may be missing information from Fairtrade certified
producer organizations that is not taken into account becauseof quality.
• There may be missing information in some questionnaires
from certified producer organizations that was not reported byauditors.
• There may be wrong data or data that were not validated.
The number of certified organizations is counted as thenumber of producer organizations at the end of the yearwith any of the following certifications statuses: certified,suspended or permission to trade.
Data on volumes produced, volumes sold and Fairtrade
Premium income and expenditure are retrospective for a
12-month period preceding the audit. Since the majorityof the audits for this data set took place during 2017, themajority of producer organizations have reported on time
periods spanning 2016–2017. We thus use ‘2016–17’ todescribe these data in the report.

Under the terms of confidentiality agreements with Fairtrade
producer organizations, data may be publicly reported inaggregate form, but not used in ways that expose data
belonging to a single producer organization, Fairtrade
Premium payer or trader. Where there are fewer than three
Fairtrade certified producer organizations in a country, andmarket-sensitive business information could be deduced, we
do not report aggregated data on the producer organizations.

DISCLAIMER
Fairtrade International is not responsible for the accuracyof the data. The report has been compiled to the best of
our knowledge and is provided for informational purposes
only. Fairtrade International reserves the right to update themonitoring data as new information becomes available.
Data quality checks are performed continuously, thus thedata presented can change in future reports. The data areprovided ‘as is’ and no warranty of any kind is given for theaccuracy and reliability of the data. Fairtrade International will
not be liable for any claims or damages related to the quality
and completeness of the data, as far as it is permitted underlaw.

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info@fairtrade.net
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